Robles criticizes Trump for belittling allies in Afghanistan: “Our 97 dead deserve respect”

Eduardo González Defense Minister Margarita Robles expressed her "absolute and categorical rejection" on Monday, January 26, of the statements made by US President Donald Trump, in which he downplayed the involvement of NATO allies in Afghanistan. Last Thursday, Trump questioned the allies' commitment in Afghanistan during an interview with the US television network EOX News. "They say they sent troops to Afghanistan, or this or that, and they did," but "they stood a little bit off the front lines," the US president declared. “I want to express my absolute and unequivocal rejection of President Trump’s statements,” Robles affirmed at the start of her appearance before the Congressional Defense Committee to report on the progress of the Armed Forces’ operations abroad. She continued, “I also want to take this opportunity to pay a very special tribute to the Spanish soldiers who, in Afghanistan, on the ground, lost their lives fulfilling their mission for the Atlantic Alliance.” “That is why these statements are unacceptable: 97 Spanish soldiers died fulfilling their mission in Afghanistan,” she warned. “Among them, I always mention (Infantry Private) Idoia Rodríguez, who was the first Spanish female soldier to die on a mission,” she continued. “Three Civil Guards, two police officers, and two naturalized Spanish interpreters also died,” she added. “I believe these deceased deserve respect,” she asserted. Furthermore, Robles continued, “there were not only these deaths in Afghanistan, but also 86 seriously wounded soldiers, an interpreter seriously wounded, and many of them still suffer psychological aftereffects.” “Therefore, we are not going to accept anyone lecturing us,” because “Spain’s commitment in all areas, but also in Afghanistan, has been clear and precise throughout the years our troops were there,” she concluded. 21,696 soldiers and possible troop deployment to Ukraine During her appearance, Margarita Robles reported that, in 2025, “a total of 21,696 members of the Armed Forces, with the participation of the Civil Guard, have participated in the contingents that Spain has deployed in the fourteen missions it has abroad; fifteen, if we also include the UMAN mission in support of Ukraine.” “As a point of reference, I would like to note that, of this number of soldiers, 2,183 have been women,” she added. “This global context will obviously force us to maintain our current efforts, with likely increases in Spain’s contribution to these deterrence and defense missions on the eastern flank,” she affirmed. Regarding the possible deployment of Spanish peacekeepers to Ukraine, Robles stated that it is necessary to see “how events unfold” and recalled that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had planned to meet with the various parliamentary political groups precisely to address this issue (the meetings were scheduled for last week but were postponed due to the train accident in Adamuz, Córdoba). In any case, she warned, “we cannot consider the presence of troops until there is a peace agreement, because the security guarantees for the volunteer coalition” are linked to reaching “a peace agreement, which is proving very difficult” and which Russian President Vladimir Putin “is obstructing in every way possible.” Commitment to NATO Robles also insisted that “Spain’s commitment to the Atlantic Alliance is total,” despite disagreements with other allies regarding the percentage of GDP that should be contributed to defense. “We have always said that this is not a matter of percentages to suit the convenience of certain countries; it is about being effective, about fulfilling our commitments, about guaranteeing peace, security, and international law. And that is where our Armed Forces will be, guaranteeing peace, security, democracy, and respect for international law in Greenland or anywhere else,” she stated. “This is not about making promises and saying that in ten years we’ll see if they are kept or not; this is about the day-to-day, because people need to see our Armed Forces in difficult times to guarantee peace,” she warned. People’s Party and Sumar During his rebuttal, Carlos Rojas García, of the People’s Party, joined in “recognizing and honoring the Spanish Armed Forces for their work and service in Afghanistan” and criticized the minister for letting more than a year pass since her last appearance to report on Spain's missions abroad. According to Rojas, the Defense Law holds Parliament responsible for “overseeing the Government's actions in defense matters” and obliges the Government to report “periodically, within a period not exceeding one year, to the Congress of Deputies on the progress of Armed Forces operations abroad.” “Her last appearance was on November 24, 2024. Therefore, more than a year has passed; it is clear that the Government is already violating the letter of the law,” he asserted. For his part, Txema Guijarro García, of Sumar (a junior partner in the coalition government), criticized NATO, “a military alliance that simply doesn't work.” “The Germans have already stated that the United States is no longer a reliable military partner,” and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, “said some time ago that NATO was brain dead.” “We have already seen that there is no NATO strategy to support Ukraine, and lately, we have seen this grotesque episode in Greenland, where European NATO forces have sent troops to NATO territory to protect it from a threat from a NATO country,” he continued.

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